Bengaluru, Jan 8 Terming the political backlash against demonetisation as unfortunate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday thanked the Indian diaspora for their support to the note ban to curb black money and fight corruption.

"I would like to thank you for supporting our fight against black money and corruption though political pundits called the note ban anti-people," Modi told about 1,800 overseas Indians at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations here.

Modi, on November 8, 2016, banned the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes to check black money, corruption, terror funding and counterfeiting of currency and gave the people 50 days till December 30 to exchange the phased out notes for new ones.

Ruing that the twin evils -- black money and corruption -- had adversely affected the country's economy and polity over the years, Modi said the time had come to eliminate them and help the honest people live with dignity and respect.

"I am grateful to all of you for supporting us in this war against the two evils that were weakening the country," the Prime Minister said.

The moment Modi raised the demonetisation issue during his 40-minute address -- in both English and Hindi, a majority of the audience cheered and applauded, hailing his decision.

"As corruption and black money were corroding our system from within, we had to take a strong stand and we did," Modi said.

Modi urged the diaspora, especially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), to avail of the six-month extension given from January 1 to surrender the banned notes at designated Reserve Bank of India (RBI) offices till June 30.

"We have made arrangements at airports for NRIs to declare on arrival the old notes they are carrying and submit them to the RBI in exchange for new notes or crediting them to their bank accounts," he said.

The government has also given three months up to March 31, 2017, to Indians staying or travelling abroad to declare if they possess old notes.

Modi asks diaspora to first develop India

Bengaluru, Jan 8 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged the Indian diaspora to first develop India by investing and contributing its expertise in the land of its origin.

"To me, FDI means First Develop India through Foreign Direct Investment, whose norms have been fully liberalised for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and made on par with domestic firms for availing same benefits," Modi told the the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident Indian Day) here.

"Diaspora can contribute to India by sparing their time and energy on implementing our flagship programmes and stay connected," said Modi during a 40-minute special address in Hindi and English.

Asserting that engaging with the overseas Indian community was a priority area for him, the Prime Minister said the government was trying to convert 'brain drain' into 'brain gain' by inviting the diaspora to contribute their mite in making India strong and self-reliant.

"Brain drain has been considered a loss for the country as Indians went abroad seeking jobs and better life. But for me and my government, such a movement is not a brain drain but brain gain as they can help us in the development," noted Modi.

For young Indians seeking jobs abroad, Modi said his government would soon launch a skill development programme.

"We will shortly launch a skill development programme, the Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana, targeted at Indian youth seeking overseas employment" he said.

The programme will train the job-seekers with soft skills so that they do not feel strangers in the country they migrate to in terms of manners and culture.

Modi also appealed to all persons of Indian origin living the world over to convert their PIO cards into Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card at the earliest.

"We are working on new procedures to ensure all descendants of Indians, especially their fourth and fifth generations living in Fiji, Suriname, Guyana and Caribbean states to become eligible for OCI cards," Modi said.

Clarifying that the government does not see the colour of the passport but the blood ties, the Prime Minister said the PIO card superseded the individual's passport as far as his or her ties to India were concerned.

When the PIO card is seen, "we don't see the colour of the passport but the blood ties", Modi said to huge applause.

Referring to Mahatma Gandhi's return from South Africa, Modi said this day marked the return to India of one of the greatest Pravasis and that his government's priority was to convert "brain drain" into brain gain".

"NRIs and PIOs have made outstanding contributions. Among them are politicians of great stature, scientists of repute, outstanding doctors, brilliant educationists, economists, journalists, musicians, engineers, bankers and did I mention our well known technology professionals," added Modi.